Why Russians Are Good At Chess, And Why It Helps To Know That

Fresh from staging a successful FIFA World Cup, Russia is stepping onto the international stage once more: this time in pursuit of the Presidency of the World Chess Federation -- or FIDE as it is known by its French acronym.

The soccer festival went better than some had expected. The hitches sometimes associated with travel in Russia -- such as over-zealous police and other officials -- seemed themselves to have taken a summer break. Russia's team, unfancied at the outset, also outperformed expectations in its performance.

If expectations of Russia as a global soccer power were low, the same cannot be said of its standing in chess. Russia and the Soviet Union have produced numerous champions. The country's candidate for FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, comes with a track record of top level roles in Russian politics, including as Deputy Prime Minister.

As he prepares for the decisive vote on October 3rd, he is also emphasizing his association with that recent Russian international success. His candidate statement refers to his role as, 'Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee for FIFA World Cup-2018 .'

Mr Dvorkovich also says he has been 'deeply connected to chess' since childhood. Many of his compatriots are, too.

Rostov-on-Don, Rostov, Russia, Eastern Europe, Europe

In Russia, as in other former Soviet republics, public parks, forest clearings, and even city sidewalks are the venue for daily contests as enthusiasts gather to try their tactics against each other.

Those who have achieved most highly have been greatly honoured. The Soviet Union dominated world chess for decades. When, in the 1970s, Bobby Fischer came along to break that up, the USA vs USSR contest took on the status of a Cold War confrontation.

Even in the earliest days of the Soviet regime, chess was associated with wise leadership. When, in the 1920s, the futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky paid tribute to the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, he did so by praising Lenin's ability to lead a revolution which had lifted up those whose 'yesterday's existence had been that of a pawn'. The poet said he liked playing billiards to train his eye; Lenin, by contrast, preferred chess, 'more useful to leaders'.

Chess has played its role in modern Russian politics, too: one of President Vladimir Putin's sternest critics, who led protest even as the economy boomed along with Mr Putin's popularity in the last decade, is Garry Kasparov. In 1985, Mr Kasparov became, at the age of 22, the youngest ever world chess champion. Earlier in this decade, as his website puts it, 'Facing imminent arrest during Putin’s crackdown, Kasparov moved from Moscow to New York City in 2013.'

Mr Kasparov's decision to leave Russia has echoes of the country's history. Tsars and Soviet General Secretaries alike rarely tolerated dissent. Those periods in Russia's history when you could not speak freely created in some an ability to think on more than one level simultaneously -- an invaluable skill in business or diplomacy; a transferable skill from chess.

When I was a correspondent in Moscow, I took chess lessons from a promising young player. For a journalist seeking to learn more about the country he was covering, it was not only a way of training my brain, but also a road into Russian culture.

Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia's deputy prime minister, poses for a photograph before a Bloomberg Television interview at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg

I also met Mr Dvorkovich on more than one occasion. Fluent in English, he always seemed on top of his brief -- not one of those politicians who might need advisors to do their thinking for them.

Ahead of the vote, observers have been trying to tally the likely votes the candidates for world chess' top job are likely to be able to gather. It is turning into an ill-natured race: just take a look at the Twitter feeds of Mr Dvorkovich, and his fellow prospective presidents, Georgios Makropoulos and Nigel Short, for a sense of the bitter war of words (and perhaps eventually court action) which is unfolding.

The contest may come to be studied as chess enthusiasts study great games of the past. Lessons will be learned, and -- like those moves which bring victory on the board -- memorized and adapted for future use within the wider chess games of business and diplomacy.

If you are planning to engage with Russia in any of those fields, you might want to spend an hour or two at the chessboard to hone your leadership skills and strategic thinking. After all, there's a chance your Russian counterpart will have done just that.